Maximising the benefits of participation for all

Refugee integration and working effectively with refugees requires trauma-informed approaches. The same applies to participation, especially as it involves the lived experience of refugees. Regardless of the level or method of participation that you are using, this toolkit provides you with some practical steps to embed trauma-informed practice in your processes and activities. Refugees are a lot more likely to have expended trauma, and to suffer from associated symptoms in the present. There is also higher incidence of specific mental health issues in refugee populations, including depression, anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

What does trauma-informed practice and safeguarding the wellbeing of refugees mean in participation?

• Being aware of the past struggles and trauma
• Recognition of the behaviours and symptoms that result from traumatic experiences
• Being mindful of current struggles (and the risk of re-traumatisation)
• Culturally sensitive behaviours and communication
• Supporting choice, autonomy, and empowerment
• Developing trust and collaborative relationships
• Focusing on strengths, resilience, and hope
• Valuing respect and dignity
• Allowing and protecting confidentiality in cases where refugees prefer not to share their views with others
• Ensuring that all have the time and opportunity to contribute
• Celebrating success, with a focus on agency
• Equality and fairness
• Challenging myths and misconceptions

As much as it is a journey for your service or organisation, participation involves a distinctive journey for refugees, which can also be a journey of integration and recover and they rebuild their lives in the region. Designing, planning, and monitoring trauma-informed participation needs to consider, not only the wellbeing of refugees, but, always, what the impacts of activities might have on their wellbeing. You will need to build mechanisms to prevent, but also tackle, situations that can affect refugees negatively, such as:

• The inability to express oneself
• Dominant speakers
• Lack of time to speak
• Difficult and sensitive topics or situations
• Lack of information and understanding about roles and expectations
• Conflicts or hostilities among participants, or between participants and staff or facilitators 
• Sharing of confidential information without consent 

Developing trauma-informed participation also needs to consider external factors that can impact on the wellbeing of refugees, and therefore on participation (during or between activities). These include:

• Precarious immigration status, 
• Housing issues
• Health and mental health issues
• Unemployment and financial problems
• Exploitation or unsafe conditions at work
• Destitution and homelessness in many cases
• Hate crime and wider experience of discrimination
• Social isolation and digital exclusion
• Family issues such as breakdown and domestic abuse

While access to participation opportunities is very much appreciated by refugees who are willing to share their concerns, special care is needed when activities involve conversations about policies that impact participants negatively. This is almost inevitable as one of the aims of participation is to contribute to service and policy improvement. 

In particular, when involving people who have endured traumatic journeys and situations before and after arriving in the UK, facilitators can underestimate the effects that activities themselves may have on refugees, especially when including themes and scenarios that can be deemed sensitive. It is important to plan suitable facilitation techniques, especially at the very beginning, such as icebreakers or more informal activities that focus on ordinary topics and away from forced migration. 

Facilitators should also aim to challenge harmful or aggressive behaviours, favouritism of any kind, and attitudes may be interpreted as patronising and create a hostile atmosphere, such as using jargon or complicated language. They should also ensure that all participants are able to follow activities in their time and no one lags behind.

Suggested actions

• If your organisation is yet to adopt trauma-informed practices, have conversations with your staff and colleagues about the impact of trauma on your service. Raising awareness about trauma and mental health is a key step in developing safe and effective refugee participation.
• Book a training session on refugee trauma and mental health for your staff. You may be able to access relevant e-learning modules. These are likely to impact positively on the development of participation activities.